Arsenic and Adobo

In the kitchen, Lila tells her grandmother, Lola Flor, and her aunt, Tita Rosie, about Derek and Mr. Long. Derek snaps rudely at Lila when she comes out of the kitchen to help another table. Lila thinks about Derek’s job as a local food critic in their small town and how Tita Rosie’s feelings are hurt when people “[reject] her food” (9). Tita Rosie waits on Derek’s table, and Lila refills glasses of honey calamansi iced tea. When she gets to Derek, he drinks several glasses in front of her. He demands chopsticks, and Lila explains that Filipinos don’t use them.

When Tita Rosie brings out the coconut dessert, Mr. Long explains that he is allergic. Lila offers to make him coconut-free cookies with ube, or purple yam. Mr. Long enjoys the cookies, and Derek says they are too sweet but keeps eating them. When Lila offers to take the cookies away, Derek tells her she is too sensitive. Then, Derek takes a bite of the ginataang bilo-bilo, convulses, and falls face-first into his food.

At first, Lila thinks Derek is pranking her. When he doesn’t take his head out of his bowl, she realizes something is wrong. Lila calls 911 while one of her godmothers, Ninang June, and Mr. Long perform CPR. After the EMTs take Derek out on a stretcher, Lila takes a hint from her grandmother to make some ginger tea called salabat and give it to the customers. Lola Flor herself brings out some cookies called lengua de gato and attempts to refuse payment. However, the customers force her to take their money before they leave.

The Calendar Crew stays behind after the other customers leave and drinks with Lila. Tita Rosie, who isn’t drinking, gets a phone call from Mr. Long. The group learns that Derek died in the hospital and that the police are coming to the restaurant.

Lola Flor thinks that Mr. Long is going to use Derek’s death as a way to evict them. The godmothers discuss how Derek lived with his mother until her new husband made Derek move out. Lila believes Derek, who was almost 30, should have already moved out of his mom’s house. The other women turn on her and accuse her of not caring about family above all else. Then, they suggest calling a lawyer—the brother of Lila’s best friend, Adeena. Lila goes next door to Java Jo’s, the coffee shop where Adeena works.

Lila bribes Adeena’s boss with some adobo and rice and offers Adeena a vegetarian version. Adeena takes a break, and Lila explains what happened and cries. After she calms down, Adeena suggests she clean herself up. Lila takes off her makeup, and Adeena mentions that her brother, Amir, is coming and that there might be television crews outside the restaurant. Lila decides to put on new makeup.

When Lila and Adeena walk back to the restaurant, Lila fumbles for her keys, and Adeena laughs at her in front of the news crew. Shortly after Lila and Adeena enter, Detective Jonathan Park arrives at the restaurant. He tells them that Mr. Long is accusing them of killing Derek, and Tita Rosie drops her coffee cup. Lila cuts her hand while cleaning the broken cup and goes into the kitchen to bandage it. In the kitchen, Lola Flor wraps up food since the restaurant is closed for the day.

When Lila returns to the dining area, Detective Park asks about Derek’s food. The staff cleaned the table right after Derek went to the hospital, which makes Detective Park suspicious. Lila defends her family’s attention to ensuring that the restaurant is sanitary. She tries to keep the detective from going into the kitchen because it is her family’s private space, which also makes him suspicious. Tita Rosie says he can go in the kitchen. While he is in there, Adeena tells Lila that the detective is “some big shot” (32). Adeena believes that her brother will remedy the situation, but Lila’s godmothers shake their heads behind Adeena’s back.

Detective Park discovers that Derek and Mr. Long’s dishes haven’t been washed. Adeena tells the detective about Derek’s diabetes, and Lila admits that she used to date Derek. Detective Park interviews people individually in Tita Rosie’s office, and Lila warns them to wait for Amir. Adeena, Lila, her godmothers, and her grandmother chat until Amir arrives. They tell Amir what happened, including that Derek was in a poor physical state before eating. Lila’s godmother Ninang April notes that Mr. Long was playing with his food while Ninang June administered CPR.

Lola Flor and Tita Rosie go into the kitchen, disregarding the detective’s order to stay put. Lila’s godmother Ninang Mae says she told Detective Park that Lila and Derek argued before he died. Lila goes to help out in the kitchen, but Lola Flor tells her to get coffee. She offers some to the detective, and he informs them that the kitchen is closed until the investigation is over. Detective Park guesses that it will take a couple of weeks for the health inspector to clear them, and Tita Rosie says being closed that long will cause her financial hardship.

After the detective leaves, Tita Rosie holes up in her office and cries. Lola Flor hands out the food, insisting that it not go to waste, before she leaves. The Calendar Crew also leaves the restaurant, and Ninang June invites Lila over for dinner and information. Lila, Adeena, and Amir discuss how the old ladies will gossip and cost them business.

Tita Rosie comes out of the office and says they can’t afford to be closed during the investigation before she leaves as well. Lila thinks about her family’s poor business sense. Adeena reminds Lila that they used to solve mysteries in high school, and Lila agrees that they should start their own investigation into Derek’s death.

Amir advises the women against conducting their own investigation. Adeena disagrees and says she is going to talk to a friend of hers from pharmacy school who works for the police lab. Ninang June’s daughter, Bernadette, works at the hospital, and Lila goes to talk to her there. Amir accompanies Lila. Bernadette doesn’t want to share information about Derek, and Lila thinks about the competition between them. Amir convinces Bernadette to share Derek’s condition when he entered the hospital: diabetic ketoacidosis. Lila gives Bernadette some food from the restaurant and invites her to come by the following day for lunch.

As representation for the Macapagal family, Amir gives Bernadette his card. This makes Lila feel like he is stealing her witness and derailing her investigation. They share a tense exchange and silence. Amir gets a phone call and leaves the hospital. Lila goes to Janet Spinelli’s office.